Tab Baldwin was born in Florida and came to New Zealand in 1988 to coach the Otago Nuggets.

He was promoted with them from the second division to the NBL and then joined the Auckland Stars in 1994. In eight seasons with Auckland, he won 5 NBL titles (1995, 96, 97, 99 and 2000) and was named NBL Coach of the Year three times (1995, 97 and 99).

He remains the most victorious coach in the history of the New Zealand NBL. In 2001, he took the reins of the National Team. By winning the 2001 FIBA Oceania championship, the Tall Blacks qualified to the 2002 FIBA World Championship and even reached the semi-finals - the best performance in the history of New Zealand basketball. Baldwin has coached Banvitspor in Turkey for the past two years and reached the semi-finals this season.